12/10/2019 CURIA - Documents 3. (a) Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the extent that processing is necessary: for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information; …’ 20 Article 21 of Regulation 2016/679, headed ‘Right to object’, provides in paragraph 1: ‘The data subject shall have the right to object, on grounds relating to his or her particular situation, at any time to processing of personal data concerning him or her which is based on point (e) or (f) of Article 6(1), including profiling based on those provisions. The controller shall no longer process the personal data unless the controller demonstrates compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override the interests, rights and freedoms of the data subject or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.’ 21 Article 85 of Regulation 2016/679, headed ‘Processing and freedom of expression and information’, provides: ‘1. Member States shall by law reconcile the right to the protection of personal data pursuant to this Regulation with the right to freedom of expression and information, including processing for journalistic purposes and the purposes of academic, artistic or literary expression. 2. For processing carried out for journalistic purposes or the purpose of academic artistic or literary expression, Member States shall provide for exemptions or derogations from Chapter II (principles), Chapter III (rights of the data subject), Chapter IV (controller and processor), Chapter V (transfer of personal data to third countries or international organisations), Chapter VI (independent supervisory authorities), Chapter VII (cooperation and consistency) and Chapter IX (specific data processing situations) if they are necessary to reconcile the right to the protection of personal data with the freedom of expression and information. …’ French law 22 Directive 95/46 was implemented in French law by Loi No 78-17, du 6 janvier 1978, relative à l’informatique, aux fichiers et aux libertés (Law No 78-17 of 6 January 1978 on information technology, data files and civil liberties), in the version applicable to the facts of the main proceedings. 23 Article 11 of that law states that, among its functions, the CNIL is to ensure that the processing of personal data is carried out in accordance with the provisions of that law, and that, on that basis, it is to receive claims, petitions and complaints relating to the processing of personal data and is to inform their authors of their outcome. The disputes in the main proceedings and the questions referred for a preliminary ruling 24 GC, AF, BH and ED each requested Google to de-reference, in the list of results displayed by the search engine operated by Google in response to searches against their names, various links leading to web pages published by third parties; Google, however, refused to do this. 25 More particularly, GC requested the de-referencing of a link leading to a satirical photomontage placed online pseudonymously on 18 February 2011 on YouTube, depicting her alongside the mayor of a municipality whom she served as head of cabinet and explicitly referring to an intimate relationship between them and to the impact of that relationship on her own political career. The photomontage was placed online during the campaign for the cantonal elections in which GC was then a candidate. On the date on which her request for de-referencing was refused she was neither a local councillor nor a candidate for local elective office and no longer served as the head of cabinet of the mayor of the municipality. curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document_print.jsf?docid=218106&text=&dir=&doclang=EN&part=1&occ=first&mode=DOC&pageIndex=0&cid=2571804 8/19